Trap shooter Ben has no problem doing double duty

KUALA LUMPUR: Double trap shooter Benjamin Khor has no place in the national team but he is not losing sleep over it.

His contract with the National Sports Council (NSC) ends on March 31 and it will not be extended.

But the 27-year-old Benjamin has come out with his own plans to stay relevant in the sport and hopefully make a return to the national team.

Benjamin, who has been working as an investment analyst in Subang Jaya since last December, said he is willing to fork out his own money to take part in competitions.

“I want to continue to compete in domestic and overseas competitions, ” said Benjamin.

Investing his own money in competitions is not something new for him.

He paid for his own trip to the Fitasc Asia Championships in Ratchaburi, Thailand in January and registered a personal best 188 points to win silver in the compak sporting event. His previous best was 181.

And a week later, in the Fitasc Grand Prix of Malaysia, Benjamin was up against some tough competitors, but he did well to finish second again with 184 points at the National Shooting Range in Subang.

“I would be reimbursed for winning silver in Ratchaburi, so that’s good, ” said Benjamin.

He is also planning to make his way to the World Fitasc Compak Sporting Championships in Missis-sippi, the United States, from Nov 12-15.

“The meet was scheduled from July 16-19 but it was postponed due to the Covid-19 outbreak. I will have enough time to prepare for the meet in November, ” added Benjamin, who bagged gold in the individual double trap at the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games in 2017.

Asked whether he could cope between work and shooting, Ben-jamin admitted it would be tough.

“I work five days a week from 10am to 6pm and I only get to train on weekends.

“It’s hectic but I don’t mind as I love the sport, ” added Benjamin, who has a degree in architecture from the University Portsmouth, United Kingdom.